I am sorry if you think Ian McShane's solemn gaze is 'hideous', but surely you acknowledge that the 'hangdog' expression is not permanently fixed on his face? For example, here is a picture of the man smiling; the lines on his face are somewhat smoothed out and he certainly doesn't look like he's about to 'burst into tears'! The picture I posted earlier was from some sort of high-contrast photoshoot which seems to emphasise the lines and crags of his face  it's part of the reason I selected it (remember, 195-year-old Dwarf), and while he does have a somewhat mournful look in his eyes, I don't see why he shouldn't be able to, you know, put on different expressions, as seen in the above picture of him with his wife. I actually think the capability to put on the brink-of-tears look would be a wonderful asset for the scene where Thorin learns that one of his allies has betrayed him, stolen the birthright he desires so greatly and handed it to his enemies...